GRESB integrates new BREEAM API to enhance green building certification reporting 

GRESB and BRE have collaborated to integrate a BREEAM API with the GRESB Portal for the 2018 reporting cycle.

The link unlocks the capability to locate, select and match valid BREEAM certificate entries to specific assets within a GRESB portfolio and help to improve the speed and accuracy of reporting for clients.

GRESB participants can already link building certifications via the 'Certification' tab within the Asset Portal.  However, the addition of the BREEAM certification dataset via the newly introduced API provides another layer of transparency and efficiency to GRESB reporting.

The new functionality will be live for the 2018 GRESB reporting period and is the first step in connecting GRESB to a BREEAM certification dataset in this way. Further functionality will be added over time as the two organisations continue to build stronger linkages.

"The integration of the BREEAM API marks an important milestone for the industry as it enables seamless and assured reporting of BRE certifications to GRESB. It also represents another step forward in our ambitions to reduce the reporting burden for our respondents” said Sander Paul van Tongeren, Co-founder and Managing Director at GRESB.

James Fisher, Existing Buildings Lead for BREEAM, said “The API demonstrates the strong synergy between GRESB as a portfolio-based reporting tool and BREEAM as a more granular asset-based reporting and certification methodology. BREEAM and GRESB’s long-term aim is to increase the speed and efficiency of data reporting and provide clients with an effective means of identifying and improving sustainability performance over time.”

BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

It recognises and reflects the value in higher performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new construction to in-use and refurbishment. BREEAM does this through third party certification of the assessment of an asset’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. This means BREEAM-rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them, help protect natural resources and make for more attractive property investments.

GRESB is an industry-driven organization transforming the way capital markets assess the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of real asset investments. In 2017 850 property companies and funds, jointly representing more than USD 3.7 trillion in assets under management, participated in the GRESB Real Estate Assessment.

GRESB data and analytical tools are used by 70 institutional investors, including pension funds and insurance companies, collectively representing over USD 17 trillion in institutional capital, to engage with investment managers to enhance and protect shareholder value.